UAE players pay tributes to Zayed after triumph

Abu Dhabi: The players of the UAE national football team, the champions of the Gulf Cup, paid respect to the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The players, accompanied by the Chairman and members of the UAE FA, yesterday morning visited the grave of Shaikh Zayed and read Al Fatihah as a mark of respect and recognition for what Shaikh Zayed had done to his country.

His great deeds towards the sector of youth and sports, in particular, resulted in the improvement of sports in general and football in particular, which led to winning the Gulf Cup.

"We will never ever forget Shaikh Zayed, the father of our country," Mohammad Omar, the UAE captain, told Gulf News.

"It is during times like these, when our people are happy with the big achievement of winning the Gulf Cup, that we need to remember what he has done to us in the past. It was the main factor that led to the improvement and progress of the game."

"Shaikh Zayed, who opened the sixth and 12th editions of the Gulf Cup, did not see his sons, the players of the UAE, win the trophy when he was alive. Hence, it is our duty to visit his grave when we achieved one of our country's dreams," Fahad Masaood said.

Healthy atmosphere

Shaikh Zayed was the founder of the UAE and always believed in providing all the facilities to the youth of the country to practice their hobbies in a healthy atmosphere, which enabled them develop and play a key role in the development of the country.

Shaikh Zayed directed to build the Zayed Sports City complex, specially when the UAE hosted the sixth Gulf Cup in 1982, when the UAE finished third.